Driving for a Living

So, I recently started working for a company called PTI (Professional Transportation Incorporated), and it’s basically a taxi service. We don’t shuttle people around town, instead we transport railroad crews to and from trains and such. And, to boil it down so this topics very short. I love this job.

This is the first job I’ve ever had where I get paid to sleep on the clock. That’s right. Sleep.

It is like a taxi service in the sense that we have to wait for calls to come in for runs, and we can work up too sixteen hours a day (I don’t as much as possible), so managers, and what not, encourage us to rest in between trips.

Another fantastic thing! It practically eliminates dealing with the general public. I worked at Walmart for a little while, and in the course of one shift I probably saw more than a thousand people a day, and I have severe anxiety issues. So, being around that many people each day was like living inside of a vice wound to it’s greatest tension. Working with PTI, I might have to deal with five people at one time (the number of Rail Road employees you can fit into a van) and over the course of the day I might have to deal with eight people altogether. Hell, there’ve been days where I’ve only had to deal with one person all day long.

So, yeah, the anxiety levels have dropped drastically. My wife has even told me that it’s like I’m a completely different person. She even told my mom that. And, on an amusing side note, my mom almost freaked out about that. (There are special circumstances regarding that note that I might share later on.)

But, yeah, the job has done wonders for me, and it’s the best paying job I’ve had to date. So, yeah, I love my job.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are downsides to the job. The hours are long, and the likelihood of running over your scheduled time is high. I’ve found that irritating, a little bit. And, though it’s the best paying job I’ve had (due to our guarantee), the pay is below minimum wage once you do the math. But, it’s a job that was originally based on commission.

And, the only other thing that really gets me is writing time. Some days, like today, I have a lot of free time to fill with writing. But, other times I don’t have time to put pencil to paper (unless I’m filling out a trip voucher). But, I’m working on making time for writing. (And, the lists I talked about in the last post are going a long way towards that.)

Anyway, I love my job, and I’ll talk to you kids later.

What has been your favorite job so far, and why?